Tricks, Treats, and Feats: Bottles’ Revenge

Is it just me, or is there something rather unsettling when parts of a game are cut from the finished product, but remain, nonetheless, as part of the game’s code? It’s kind of like discovering a hidden, boarded-up room on the other side of your bedroom wall, or learning that your house was built atop an old cemetery. Maybe it’s just the spirit of Halloween getting to me. Or maybe it really is just downright creeeeepy….

This particular example of hidden gaming weirdness pertains to the much-loved Banjo-Tooie from the N64 era. But before I divulge the details, let me ask you a question. During the Tower of Tragedy quiz, did you ever notice that one of the character icons next to the answer choices was occasionally a devil version of Bottles?

You may not have. To be honest, I’m not sure if I ever have, either, so I can’t really say how I even managed to find out about this secret to begin with.

You see, there was supposedly going to be this extra game mode in Banjo-Tooie called Bottles’ Revenge. In this decidedly bizarre extra feature, Bottles’ ghost would turn devilish and possess enemies. These enemies could be controlled by a second player, who would try to defeat Banjo and Kazooie, controlled, as you might expect, by player 1. If player 2 was successful, player 1 and 2 would basically swap places, and the process would continue. I heard that bosses were originally going to be playable, as well, but this was changed because Rareware believed this would potentially make the game too difficult. Since this game mode was never fully tested and debugged, however, it was never implemented in the final version of Banjo-Tooie, even though some clever people have still found ways to play it anyway, as it remains present on the cartridge despite not being easily accessed.

I must admit that Bottles’ Revenge is a rather strange idea, but perhaps it would have been quite fun to harass player 1 for a chance to play for a little while yourself. One of my most memorable two-player experiences was when Mother Duck and I tried to play Joe and Mac together, only to become too distracted with beating each other up to make any real progress. Of course, it is hard to say whether Bottles’ Revenge would have resulted in laughter or rage. If you’re curious, the video below is rather short, but it should give you a brief idea of what Bottles’ Revenge entails, mainly including the initial cut scene.

Video from Youtube User: videogamefan2315

So, what do you guys think? Is Bottles’ Revenge something you think you would have enjoyed had it been a readily available feature in Banjo-Tooie? And would you rather be player 1 or 2 in this situation? As far as unused features in games go, what is the strangest example you can think of? Please let me know in the comments below!